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From: "Elizabeth V Cardinal" <>
Subject: Genetics
Date: Mon, 22 Nov 2004 06:43:32 -0500


I have a friend who has a Ph.D.in Biology and teaches Genetics etc. She has
impeccable and impressive credentials.

The subject of what makes up our racial/ethnic makeup started on another
list simply because I mentioned the Celtic heritage of the Hungarian people.

Without sending you numerous emails I can now safely say thanks to my friend
we carry the genes and the mutations of the genes of all who came before us.
None of us are "racially pure".

Here is part of an email I received this morning:

Elizabeth said: As a genealogy buff I would love to see DNA used to
identify our ethnic/racial makeup.

The response:

>This won't happen. The reason it won't happen is because neither
>actually exists. Do you want me to explain why both are artificial
>constructs?>>

E said : I am disappointed it can't happen. Am I correct then, that those
>adverting DNA testing to show racial and ethnic backgrounds cannot do so?

The response:

That is a tough question to answer "yes" or "no" or "maybe" on. Many of the
advertisements cannot do what they say -- or rather what they imply! Read
the fine print. Some of them imply a whole lot more than they say.

We really have two threads on this. One is the thread that spans the planet
over the history of the human race. The other thread is the "which
individual is related to which other individual" one.

I discussed the Eve theory (or Eve Hypothesis) yesterday. That thread,
which compares mitochondrial DNA, can show the migration patterns and who
was involved in which pattern.

With that concept -- along with the other thread -- we are always dealing
with what is NOT true. So, we look at two DNA samples -- whether
chromosomal or mitochondrial and what we can say is "These two individuals
are PROBABLY NOT related and here are the probability numbers and why we say
this" or "These two individuals have an X% chance of being related
because...."

Now, let's put that in the realm of race and ethnicity. We can always talk
about certain genes being more common in a certain group than in another
group. But, we can never say anything with absolute certainty.

What is ethnicity? Because a person is Polish or Italian or Spanish or
Irish? Golly, gee whiz! The Moors lived in Spain. The Spaniards headed up
to Ireland (and ended up with a minor blow to the Spanish Armada in 1588).
But, that was not before they left some genes in Ireland! And how many of
those genes were Moorish? (Before my hair acquired its distinctive salt and
pepper flavor, it was quite black. I am not Spanish -- though I have on
many occasions been mistaken for Spanish -- particularly when I've been
traveling around Europe. I am part Irish. Moorish blood? Or, should I
say, Moorish genes? We'll never know.) I use this simply to ask how to
define ethnicity. For that matter, when in Europe I've also been mistaken
for German, French, and Belgian. (The Italians have never claimed me -- but
they've always been nice to me -- except those Swiss Guards who blocked my
camera back in 1999!)

We could carry that one step further. What is race? Can you define race?
I cannot. There was a really good article in a recent issue of *Scientific
American* about how we could not define race. Are there tendencies from
certain parts of the world? Yes. Do these necessarily define race? No.
Check out that article. That will give you a full-fledged explanation.

Now, let's add another little bit of statistical mud to this pot. It is
estimated that at least 70% of all black people in the USA have at least one
white ancestor. It is also estimated that at least 20% of all white people
have at least one black ancestor. And we're not even talking about people
who are trying to "pass." So, what constitutes race? I sure don't know.

Here's another tidbit. In some parts of the country at least 12% of all
people do NOT have the father they think is their father. Now, doing
paternity testing using DNA is quite simple. Of course, it only determines
who is most probably NOT the father and who most probably COULD BE the
father. Well, even doing it that way, you get an interesting number.

So, we are still back to defining race and ethnicity. And we are still
ALWAYS looking at probability and not at absolutes.

Elizabeth V. Cardinal


"All my life, I've done for you. Now it's my turn to do for me."
(from the Red Hat Society theme song)






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